September 490 BC · Marathon plain, Attica Theater
September 490 BC
A Persian expeditionary force of roughly 25,000 men landed at the Bay of Marathon to punish Athens and Eretria for their support of the Ionian Revolt. The Athenians, outnumbered and unsupported (Sparta arrived too late), chose to attack rather than remain behind their walls. Miltiades weakened the Athenian centre and strengthened the wings. When the Greeks charged at a run, the strong Greek flanks enveloped the Persian centre and drove the invaders back to their ships with catastrophic losses — some 6,400 Persians fell; Athens lost only 192 hoplites, whose names were inscribed at the burial mound still visible today.
Commanders